by Waymores Ghost 4 Replies latest jw friends
...on the Middle east, specifically the history between Israel and Palestine. Is the Bible, at least from a historical view, reliable enough to build a good time-line in this regard?
I've tried to do this on other forums and all I usually get is a long tirade against one side or the other. That doesn't help me much
Wg
As far as I'm aware, the biblical account seems to be at leasy basically historically accurate back to maybe the 9th century BC (i.e. the era of the divided kingdoms).
Before that, there's no clear evidence. Was David really the king of a United Israelite Kingdom from Dan to Beersheba, or was he just a provincial warlord whose descendants created legends around him? Were the Hebrews actually escaped slaves from Egypt, or were they a nomadic people who lived alongside the Canaanites for centuries before gradually gaining dominance? Historical clues are scant, and no one really knows.
Personally, I don't see how it matters to the modern Middle East. If we accept the biblical account as historical, then the land of Israel was seized through military conquest and genocide. Not exactly something for a persecuted people to be proud of.
Wondering which sides' claim to the territory in dispute has more historical legitimacy. Wg
Here is an interesting article on the subject, linking Habiru (strangers) with Hebrews.
http://www.bibleorigins.net/Hebrewhabiruslaves.html
From what I can see, documented historical borders never settle land claim issues. The drawing of borders are done by those who are stronger than their neigbours. Thus, the Hungarians can complain about their lost lands for a thousand years. Since they are no longer the feared Huns on horseback knocking on Rome's doors, nobody listens.
Waymores... the Israelites, according to the Bible, gained the land by military conquest.
And the current Palestinians are no relation to the people who inhabited the land in Bible times.
So I don't think that biblical history is going to help you answer that question.
